The Broad program is truly about taking initiative and making things happen. Coming in to the program a lot of us wanted to pursue consulting. We had people who were passionate about a career in consulting. The discussions and knowledge centers were there but a lot of it was informal. We wanted a central body that could collect and disseminate information about the consulting industry.

That is how Broad Consulting Club was formed. The main objective of this club is to maintain a knowledge base of the consulting industry and offer coaching to those who want to pursue consulting. It is based on the principle that you get as much as you put in. A key feature of this club is periodic mock case interviews that students hold for one another giving others a chance to hone their structured approach to problem solving. This is a critical part of preparing for the consulting interviews as it offers a chance to go home and reflect on the performance and come back more prepared next time.

Recently we had our first Broad Consulting Conference. We had representation from top consulting companies like Mckinsey & Co., Deloitte, IBM, Cap Gemini and AT Kearney. The conference kicked off with a key note speech from Darren Samuels – Director, AT Kearney on the current state of the consulting industry and opportunities that lay ahead given the pending overhaul of so many things from systems to entire value chains. The key note speech was followed by a panel discussion in which practicing consultants offered their views on various aspects of consulting such as ‘firm’ culture, consulting life, sales cycle in consulting, different types of compensation deals in consulting industry and the growing risk aversion and measures that consulting companies are taking to mitigate or share risk. The conference ended with a case workshop that gave us an opportunity to analyze two cases, present the solutions to the consultants and seek feedback. It really offered us a dress rehearsal of an actual case interview. The MSU alumni who now work for some of the top consulting companies offered a session of coaching in case analysis and what they would look for in potential candidates.

Organizing an event of this scale (total attendance 50 plus) was one of the first for me. We really got a chance to position the event, arrange for the much needed funds, interact with the consultants and control various aspects of event management. We had a tremendous support from our team who put in a ton of time in to organizing the event. The professionalism that all brought to the table was phenomenal. The Broad culture is truly close knit. We had tremendous support both financial and moral from MBA association leadership who understood the need for such an event for our school as a whole. So my take away from this experience is, if you believe in something find people who think like you and make things happen that are beyond a single person’s capability. There is strength in team and it is more fun that way.